Wow, wow, wow. Where to begin? First let's set the tone by saying I am a very happy man right now. Sure, it would be nice if I could be all hard-*** and objective and pick apart every detail of the car like an emotionless investigator, but let me admit right up front that I am seriously in love with this car. So for unbiased criticism, read elsewhere!

(But, after driving the car and falling in love with it, I noticed that the instrument panel dimming buttons are not up to par with the best that the German marques have to offer, so of course I immediately cancelled my order and demanded my deposit back.

KIDDING! Sorry, had to poke some fun at some of the recent posts on here.)

Seriously, the car exceeded all my expectations despite those expectations being set mighty high by all I've read and by my own best hopes. Part way into my drive on a beautiful road, with the sun setting, it hit my just how good it felt to drive this machine. At that moment -- and I would not admit this to anyone but the rest of you fanatics -- I actually shed a tear or two. That was weird.

The engine sound is a really throaty growl when you punch it, but doesn't intrude when taking it easy. Any thoughts of obeying the 4,000 RPM break-in guideline were dispelled from my mind once I felt the engine kick in above four grand. (That occurred about five seconds into my test drive, with the salesman present.) The sound is much better than I had expected, and it makes you want to kick the throttle just to hear it!

The power is really nice and torquey, but I must say it didn't have an enormous "kick" at any one point. I understand why the car has been described (by Motor Trend, I believe) as "deceptively fast". You feel a constant acceleration, and before you know it you look at the speedo (digital if you like) and Whoa! That's fast! I think it is a testament to the solidity and handling of the car that it feels like it could take a lot more power. That's not to say it's underpowered as it is, but it feels like it wouldn't go all squirrelly on you with say, another 50-75 hp.

(I have a feeling it will lunge a lot harder once it loosens up after a few K miles. Even after my 85-mile jaunt, it felt like first gear starts kicked me in the *** a lot more.)

The handling is really what did it for me. It feels so planted and corners so flat, but the ride is not painful in the least. It doesn't hammer you on ridges and small bumps like a Boxster or MR2. It just grabs the road and doesn't let go. The VDC kicked in once when I goosed it in a tight 2nd-gear corner, and it did so in an unobtrusive way without cutting power drastically. I think I actually like having it! (I wasn't sure I would.)

Speaking of gears, the shifter is magical. I heard people complain about the vibration. To me, that just means it feels like it's actually connected to something! It is very easy to find the gears, as the center position is firmly maintained. Pushing it from 2nd into 3rd drops it in so beautifully, it's a real joy to do.

While I'm raising subjects of controversy, what about the seating position? Did I feel like I was driving the world's fastest bathtub? In a word, no, but I understand the remark. This is a car you sit in, like --- well, like the serious sports cars! It doesn't have the sit-up, expansive greenhouse feel of, say, an Accord or my Honda mini-van. (That's a good thing, in my book.) I happen to like a car that I sit low in, it makes me feel like I'm seriously driving and not looking out at the scenery.

Visibility? No problems, again, compared to other sports cars.

Speaking of other cars, I should mention I am not gushing like this after driving shitbox Corollas all my life. My current car is a Mercedes SLK230 Kompressor, and I have had a first-gen RX7, a second-gen Scirocco (16V), and driven lots more. This car is so much more fun than anything I have driven.

Oh, the interior? Well, let me dispel some myths: the infamous "flimsy" nav door is only a problem if you don't know how to close it. Yes, I agree, you shouldn't need instruction to close a door, and shame on Nissan for not making its operation intuitive (wow, see that? A criticism!) But when you know how to close it, guess what? It closes! And of course it opens in a really cool way by pressing a button. (The funny thing is I think the last-minute "improvement" to the nav door was the application of a sticker saying how to close it!) I also have to admit that without the nav unit, the space there is kind of useless. Solution: don't use it. No problem!

The rest of the interior feels like a serious place to drive. And the seat is very comfortable and supportive. The stereo actually sounded better than I expected (but admittedly I wasn't expecting too much in this area after reading all the "Bose sucks" hype and realizing this is one step below the Bose.)

About 50 miles into my drive, I had the crazy thought that this one drive alone was worth the price!

Oh, I should add something about my dealer experience: these guys were great! (South County Nissan in Gilroy) They have a 350Z expert that actually knows all about the car (and is getting one for himself and his wife) -- he even showed me a few things I didn't know! No BS, and they know what they're doing.

So there you have it: The Greatest Car I Have Ever Owned. I am sorry, I don't mean to "rub it in" for those that are still waiting, but you should know that at least some people think that Nissan got everything exactly right.

Feel free to ask questions.

 

Thanks alot z350z. This makes it an even longer wait until December. Arggghhhhhh!!!!

 

a tear came to your eye....thats nothing ...Im probably gonna lose it completely.....


RIGHT ON MAN great review...I am so siked up..........ITS A REALITY NOW!!!

 

Thank you,thank you , thank you. It is truley refreshing to read a positive post by a HAPPY ,enthusiastic,new 350Z owner.

Great Post..


Congratulations...

 

Great Review. Are you sure you don't work for one of the Car Mags?

 

I'm already loosing it waiting for my 'Zed' ..
congrats z350z, can't wait to get my hands on mine.

 

Some people say ride comfort is smooth while others say its rough (more smooth than rough though).

These ratings are useless as everyone has their own benchmark to make such a comment (the guy who says it's rough is used to driving a Camry); likewise for the guy who says it's smooth.

This is the first time I read where the cars bumpiness is compared to another (the MR2) and fares better -- which sounds like good news!!

I test drove an MR2, but at the time I wasn't trying to focus on the bumpiness so I am still at odds. Has anyone driven a Honda Prelude either 92-96 model or the 97-01 model? How would it compare to that?

Thanks

 

Great post on your new car and I would also like to ask for the nuggets you got from the Z expert. One other question, how tall are you, and if you are tall, did you feel at all cramped?

 

You lucky Blipping SOB

GREAT review, thank you for parking it long enough to post!

BTW.....with all the problems you found, why didn't you get your deposit back?

Silly question, Does the "glove box", the big one, have a light?

Makes waiting 2 frigging more months that much harder!

Remember, SAFETY FAST!

Liked your interpretation of Nissan's fix of the Nav door

 

z350z - thank you for the ride. I felt like I was riding shotgun there for a minute.

I agree with you about the nav door. Played with it for a few minutes last night. No prob.

How was the reaction of the other drivers? Did you cause any wrecks in garlic country?

Honest moment: I went to bed last night at 11:00. Woke up at 1 AM and spun the Z in my head for the next five hours. I think you just sentenced me to another similar experience.

At least tomorrow is Friday!

 

Of all the Z reviews I've read anywhere, this was the most entertaining! Congrats and good luck with your car.

 

What were they able to show you that you didn't already know from the massive knowledge on this site???

 

Thanks all for the positive words. To answer a few questions:

Nuggets of info from the "expert": nothing too exciting, just things that I didn't know, like how to open the back hatch without the key fob (hidden button on the rear, electrically operated). Locations of things like the fuel door release button, which I should have memorized after reading the manual twice but had somehow not retained.

But here is something I discovered for myself that I have not read anywhere: the operation of the brake's "panic mode" (my name for it). My SLK also has this: when you hit the brakes really quickly, it detects a panic stop and applies full brake pressure to the ABS even though you don't push it to the floor. (My wife says this has prevented an accident for her a few times.) Well, in the 350Z, you can actually detect the feedback of this even without actually doing a panic stop. If you tape the brake pedal quickly, it doesn't push down normally but meets hard resistance right near the start of its travel. Pushing from this point is like pushing the last bit of travel to the floor in a normal stop. In other words, quick application of the pedal reduces the "cushion" area and makes every bit of braking really count. I thought it was a defect of some kind when I first felt it, then realized what it was. I like it because you can feel what it's doing as opposed to the Mercedes system that performs its magic secretly.

Interior room: I'm only average height at 5'9" and so of course there was massive amounts of headroom. The cabin feels spacious, especially compared to something like an S2000 (which I have sat in but never driven).

"Glove box" light: no, didn't notice one. The glove box can be locked with the key, but doesn't lock/unlock automatically with the doors.

Reaction of other drivers: I had a girl in an Eclipse seriously check me out (OK, she was checking out the car) and lots of people looked at it like they knew what it was, or were wondering what it was. But of course the majority of people out there are as perceptive of cars as I am of what kind of designer clothes someone is wearing (i.e. not very). No wrecks caused out here in garlic country, but a lot of long hard stares!

And Zay: No, I don't work for a Car Mag, but writing that was fun -- maybe I should change careers!

-CZ

 

There is a glovebox light. It only comes on when you have the headlights on.

 

Z -
Epic post - no need to qualify yourself for being longwinded... you should know by now that all of us that haven't received ours take in EVERY word..
Getting back to your previous cars, (and this comparison goes out to anyone else who has input) I sense that part of your impression of the Z is due to cars that you have owned in the past. That is where I come in - I am currently driving a friggin 1993 Mazda 626!!! My friends, and others that I know are telling me that the Z is going to be a subtle change - to say the least.
The closest car I have over owned was a 1987 240SX.
Whats your take?? Feel free to give the Z all the props it is due....... And tks for the epic post.

Russ

 

Bwahaha what a loser! Crying over a CAR!!!!

Totally kidding.

Great review, awesome reading. Enjoy the ride!

Me, I'll be crying buckets when I'm cruising down Highway 101 blasting Tool on my $3k stereo...

 

GREAT review. all I can say is: O boy O boy O boy O boy O boy....

I'm suposed to be september, but still no vin yet, and my dealer doesn't have any stock yet according to nissandriven. If it's pushed back to oct or nov I'm going to go nuts. Or moreso nuts than I already am.

 

OMG, nizl, I can't believe you said that. I was listening to Tool -- seriously! I just bought Aenima and Undertow from Amazon and they arrived in the mail just before I went to pick up the Z. I was listening to Aenima while driving for awhile, but then I decided I liked hearing the engine better and shut it off. I'm probably too old to be listening to Tool, but I really like it, especially Sober on Undertow. Great driving music! (Well, maybe when -- or if I get tired of hearing that rockin' V6 ripping off its own brand of glorious internally-combusted tunes).

 

You're never too old to listen to good music!

the title track on aenima is their best IMO, track #13